The National Weather Service (NWS) is forecasting a strong coastal storm on Thursday that will bring accumulating snow across the entire state, with the eastern half of the state seeing the greatest amounts. Strong and possibly damaging winds are also expected, with the greatest threat on Cape Cod and the Islands.

For a complete local forecast check out our media partner, WCVB.

Current Forecast for Thursday:

Winter Storm Watches are in effect for all of Rhode Island and portions of eastern Mass.

Snow will overspread the region from southwest to northeast after 2 am Wednesday night/Thursday morning and last most of the day on Thursday. On the Cape and Islands, the precipitation may start as rain but it likely will transition to snow by Thursday evening. Snow may be light initially but will increase in intensity during the day. Travel may become difficult due to poor visibility and snow covered roads. Blowing and drifting snow is also possible.

All of the state will see accumulating snow, with the greatest amounts in eastern MA (excluding the Cape and Islands). Most likely snowfall totals will be 3” to 4” in central and western MA, up to 3” on the Cape and Islands, and 5” to 8” elsewhere in eastern Mass. However, there is a low risk of 10” to 12” of snow across much of the state if the track of the storm shifts to the west.

West winds will increase Thursday morning, with the strongest winds expected from late morning into the afternoon. Most of the region can expect gusts of 25 to 35 mph, but gusts up to 55 mph are forecast on Cape Cod and the Islands.

Mid-Day high tide could result in minor to moderate coastal flooding for northeast facing beaches. Currently anticipate surge between 2-3 feet.

Still some uncertainty on the exact track of the coastal low. It is currently forecast just outside of the 40N/70W benchmark. However, if it trends closer to the benchmark then expect more wind and higher snowfall amounts. If it moves a bit farther east than wind and snow will be less.

NWS has higher confidence in the forecast wind gusts over land and water.

Bitterly/dangerously cold weather follows Friday into Saturday with the potential for wind chill values dropping to between 15 and 35 below zero.

MEMA Operations:

The State Emergency Operations Center is operating at Level 1 (Steady State Monitoring). MEMA will continue to monitor the forecast and will disseminate Situational Awareness Statements as necessary.

Stay Informed:

For additional information and updated forecasts, see www.weather.gov/boston (National Weather Service Taunton) and www.weather.gov/albany (National Weather Service Albany).

Utilize Massachusetts Alerts to receive emergency notifications and information from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service. Massachusetts Alerts is a free app that is available for Android and iPhones. To learn more about Massachusetts Alerts, and for information on how to download the free app onto your smartphone, visit: www.mass.gov/mema/mobileapp.

Utilize MEMA’s real-time power outage viewer to stay informed about current power outages in your community and region, and across the state, including information from utility companies about restoration times: http://mema.mapsonline.net/public.html